Permits

Aquaculture permits authorise farmers to undertake aquaculture in NSW. An aquaculture permit will define the species that the permit holder is authorised to cultivate and the areas in which they can undertake this cultivation. An aquaculture permit will also state the conditions that the permit holder must comply with.

Classes of permit for marine waters aquaculture

There are several different classes of aquaculture permit. For marine waters aquaculture, these may be:

Class A

This class of permit authorises extensive aquaculture on public water land (submerged Crown land). In the marine sector, these are deep water leases. 'Extensive aquaculture' means that supplementary feeding is not undertaken. For example, this class of permit would be needed for mussel farming.

Class B

This class of permit authorises intensive aquaculture on public water land (submerged Crown land). These are also deep water leases, however under this class of permit, supplementary feeding is permitted. For example, this class of permit would be needed for finfish farming in sea pens.

A farmer may supplement their business by also holding a class C permit for a nursery or a class H permit for a hatchery. Refer to the land based permit for more information on these classes of permit.

Permit conditions

All aquaculture permits have conditions that the permit holders must comply with. Standard and specific permit conditions can be viewed on the permit conditions page.

Permit holder responsibilities

Permit holders must be aware of their obligations under the Fisheries legislation:

Fisheries Management Act 1994 No 38 - NSW Legislation (the Act)
Fisheries Management (Aquaculture) Regulation 2024 (the Regulation)

If a permit holder does not meet their obligations, action may be taken against their aquaculture permit. For more information see permit and lease holder responsibilities factsheet.